A remake of Yatterman aired on NTV and Yomiuri TV from January 14, 2008 through September 27, 2009, with the original voice actors for the Dorombo gang. A live-action adaptation was released theatrically in March 2009. Another entry in the franchise, Yatterman Night, began airing in January 2015 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Time Bokan franchise.[2]

A mysterious stone known as Skull Stone (ドクロストーン,Dokurosutōn?) is scattered across the planet, and it holds the power to reveal the location of the largest deposit of gold in the world. The "Doronbo (ドロンボー,Doronbō?) Gang, the three villains, are searching for the Skull Stone. Standing in their way are Gan and Ai who, teamed up with their large mechanical dog Yatterwan, become the masked heroes Yatterman-1 and Yatterman-2.

Unlike the previous series in the Time Bokan lineup, Yatterman does not cover any specific time/space travel. Instead, the places the characters travel to and the individuals they meet are either a homage or parody. The fictional characters or places are usually represented by purposely misspelled names or familiar actions. For example, a revolution leader is named "Yashington" as a homage to George Washington; and a place resembling ancient Japan is named "Yametai" ((I) want to stop), as a spoof of Yamatai.

Gan is a 13-year-old boy whose father is a famous toy designer who failed to complete the "Yatter-Wan", a dog-shaped all-terrain rescue robot. Gan is an expert in mechanics, and he helps fix his father's dream design. He forms a fighting team with his girlfriend Ai, and names himself Yatterman-1. His weapon of choice is a kendama, which he uses as a flail and grappling hook as well as for his special attack "Kenda-Magic", a zapping attack.[3] He is shown to be much more careless in the 2008 version of the show and has tendency to frustrate Ai.

Ai is Gan's girlfriend, and the only daughter of a shopkeeper who sells electrical appliances. She is Gan's loyal follower. She is often seen constructing and modifying machines with Gan. She is Yatterman-2, and uses a telescoping baton called "Electric Stick" to emit electric currents to shock opponents.[4] In the 2008 version of the show, she often refer things as "100%" (for example "We are in 100% of trouble")

Omotchama is Gan's robot. It serves as the mascot of Gan's father's toy shop. It is shaped like a large dice, and is known for its catchphrase "-da-koron" at the end of each sentence. His name comes from 'omoccha', the Japanese word for 'toy'.

Doronjo is an attractive blonde who leads the Dorombo Gang in locating the Dokuro Stone. She is known for her vanity, intelligence and leadership, just like her counterpart from Time Bokan, along with her iconic skull-shaped smoking pipe. Marjo. Her real name is Hiroko Sasagawa (ササッガワ・ヒロッコ,Sasaggawa Hirokko?).[4]

Boyacky is a tall skinny man with a large nose and moustache, just like his counterpart Grocky in Time Bokan.[4] He is clever, lecherous and largely responsible for the creation of the giant mechas used by the Dorombo Gang. He usually appears naked according to his comic Bogeboge Boyacky(ボゲボゲボヤッキー).

A short, muscular, squat man with a severe overbite and facial stubble, just like his counterpart Walther in Time Bokan.[4] Tonzura is the strong man of the group and does most of the heavy lifting, though he's usually quick to run away when threatened. He speaks in kansai-ben.

Dokurobei is the elusive boss of the Dorombo Gang. He gives orders regarding the location of the Dokuro Stone to his subordinates in unusual ways, such as through a talking hamburger or the image of a red skull on a TV screen. Even when his leads are revealed to be inaccurate, Dokurobei is always quick to punish the Dorombo Gang when they fail.

The dog-shaped robot Yatter-Wan was designed by Gan's father as a prototype rescue robot. It is fitted with a siren and a bell, similar to other rescue vehicles, and a joystick to control the other features. Its nostrils fire iron pellets, and holds two firehoses on its back. A bone-shaped power pack, known as "Mecha-Tonic", is fed to the dog robot to allow a sudden outburst of strength to ward off a deadly blow. The robot's special attack is a large group of miniature robots, usually taking the shape of land-based animals, exit the robots mouth. The mini-robots use their weapons on the enemy, causing the Doronbo's robots to explode and create a skull-shaped explosion cloud.

Yatter-King was built using the damaged remains of Yatter-Wan. It is a much larger machine, resembling a crossover of a fire engine with a dachshound. It comes with a complete series of new features, including a tail that serves as a firehose, a projectile launcher on its rear body and a body that serves as a mecha-carrier for a series of smaller robots. In the 2009 version,, it was formed by combining Yatterwan and Yatterzero, which has a design with a more fighting ability and a "king" like robot design.

Yatter-Pelican is a pelican robot that appeared in the 14th episode. It is constructed by Gan as an airborne mecha for the Yatterman duo. Pelican has a braggard, loud-mouthed personality. It feeds on a fish-shaped Mecha-Tonic for a power boost, and the mini-robots it releases are shaped like various birds. In the 2008 version, he tends to speak in bits of English in certain sentences.

Angler (Yatter-Fish) is a goosefish robot, it appeared in the 27th episode. It is constructed as the only all-terrain mecha for the Yatterman, and is equipped with a cockpit for underwater travels. The Mecha-Tonic is in the shape of a fish-roe, and releases mini-robots shaped like marine creatures. It has a funny, constantly gurgling voice as if it talks underwater.

Phant is an elephant robot. The machine is introduced in the 92nd episode as an alternate mecha-carrier alongside Yatter-King. Its most noticeable feature is its ears, which flap to allow flight, and its trunk serves as a water-hose/flamethrower.

The shape and function of their mechas is fully dependent on the theme of the scam-business they run at the beginning of each episode. Their machines usually feature a familiar interior with Boyacky and Tonzura sitting at the sides, and Doronjo sitting in the middle bossing the two. The villains' machines are often seen packing a lot of weaponry and usually temporarily defeat Yatterman mechas at the beginning of each fight. Later in the show, the villains start to deploy their own armies of miniature robots to counter those of Yatterman.

The original series aired on Fuji TV between January 1, 1977 and January 27, 1979, running for 108 episodes. For episodes 1-58, the opening theme is "Theme of Yatterman" (ヤッターマンの歌,Yattāman no Uta?) by Masayuki Yamamoto whilst the ending theme is "Genius Doronbo" (天才ドロンボー,Tensai Doronbō?) by Noriko Ohara, Jōji Yanami and Kazuya Tatekabe. For episodes 59-108, the opening theme is "Yatterking" (ヤッターキング,Yattākingu?) by Yamamoto whilst the ending theme is "Dorobo's Shirake" (ドロンボーのシラーケッ,Doronbō no Shirāke?) by Ohara, Yanami and Tatekabe. The series also aired in Spain, Italy and Poland.

Nearly 31 years following the previous series, a remake of the series aired on YTV between January 14, 2008 and September 27, 2009, running for 60 episodes. The story is a retelling of the original series, with more modern references to suit the current tastes. The opening themes are variations of "Yatterman's Theme" sung by, in order, Saemon Onyakichi, ET-KING, Yuki Nishio, Nakano-Bujo Sisters and Toshihiko Takamizawa, with the final episode using the original version by Yamamoto. The ending themes in order are "diverge" by mihimaru GT, "Total Eclipse" (皆既日蝕,Kaiki Shitsushoku?) by Juleps, "Like Love Song" (恋想曲,Rensōkyoku?) by Manami Kurose, "Now" (今,Ima?) by ET-KING, "Give Me Up" by Nami Tamaki, "I Win!" (勝つんだ!,Katsunda!?) by Nakano-Bujo Sisters and "A Story That Starts From ZERO" (ZEROからはじめるストーリー,Zero Kara Hajimeru Sutōrī?) by Wakaba. The series, along with the original show is currently streaming in North America via Yomiura Group's planned Anime Sols video service, as of spring 2013.[5][6][7] However, due to the failure to successfully crowd-fund it for DVD, the show will soon be removed from the site, with the possibility of considering a crowd-funding opportunity in the future.

On August 22, 2009, an anime film based on the 2008 television series was released in Japan.[8] Titled Yatterman: Shin Yatter Mecha Daishūgō! Omocha no Kuni de Daikessen da Koron!(ヤッターマン 新ヤッターメカ大集合!オモチャの国で大決戦だコロン!?, lit. "Yatterman: All New YatterMechas Assembled! Great Decisive Battle in the Toy Kingdom!") and directed by Masakazu Hishida, the film opened at #10 with US$702,155 on 210 screens.[9]

A 2015 television series, Yatterman Night, began airing in Japan from January 11, 2015 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Time Bokan franchise. The series takes place several years in the future and follows the descendants of the Doronbo Gang as they fight against the Yattermen, who have become corrupt. The series is licensed in North America by Funimation, who are simulcasting the series as it airs.[10]

Filming began on March 27, 2008,[11] and concluded at the end of May 2008.[11] It is directed by Takashi Miike. Character and mechanical designs were handled by Katsuya Terada, who has worked on Blood: The Last Vampire and Cutie Honey. The film opened on March 7, 2009, and became Japan's top movie at the box office on its first week.[12][13] Video label Eureka have licensed released the film on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2012. Discotek Media released the film in North America in 2013.[14]

Several video games have been released based on the series. NEW Yatterman: Nandai Kandai Yajirobe(NEWヤッターマン 難題かんだいヤジロベエ?) was released for Super Famicom on March 22, 1996. A Mobile Game was released on 2003 developed by Hudson Soft. Two Nintendo DS titles based on the 2008 series, Yatterman DS: Bikkuri Dokkiri Daisakusen da Koron(ヤッターマンDS ビックリドッキリ大作戦だコロン,Yatterman DS: The Great Thrilling Operation?) and Yatterman DS2: Bikkuri Dokkiri Animal Daibōken(ヤッターマンDS2 ビックリドッキリアニマル大冒険,Yatterman DS2: The Great Thrilling Animal Adventure?), were released in April 2008 and October 2008 respectively, followed by a Wii title, Yatterman Wii: Bikkuri Dokkiri Machine de Takeshi Race da Koron(ヤッターマンWii ビックリドッキリマシンで猛レースだコロン,Yatterman Wii: The Thrilling Takeshi Machine Race?), released on December 11, 2012.